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Michael Claytons timeliness has never really wavered.
I almost was like, Can I pitch another movie?
I know thats not how this works.
Real solid anecdotes, funny things, with famous people and stuff!
When I say the words Michael Clayton, what comes to mind?I get bashful.
But also, it was a long time ago and Im a pretty slim part of the piece.
Youd done movies, youd done TV.
It wasnt like,Ill deign to do Michael Clayton.
Shes described as a country girl, a plain, open, farm girl.
I look familiar with dairy.
Katherine Waterston pops up in this.
She has one scene and I realized watching this,I bet that she went in for Anna.
It was, I think, in the script.
They wanted a certain look.
That always really threw me for a loop.
I dont remember that part.
I knew they had already cast Tilda Swinton, George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson.
I have a feeling thatthatfeeling was still maybe lingering come November.
Im sure it went away by the time we were shooting.
Im sure that I wore sneakers but packed heels I put on right outside the office.
As a city kid, did the country girl part of it feel like a particular challenge?
Its not that shes bratty, but shes throwing some elbows.
She wants to show her sister that shes grown.
She seems like a very young 23 year old.
The word unsophisticated sounds elitist, but she was inexperienced.
But Im sure I related to feeling small and young, especially in a work environment like that.
I reread the sides.
I mean, the optics are horrific.
But his aims are a lot higher and truer.
Shes being told all of a sudden by this big powerful man that shes important.
Why have you chosen me?
Because theres something special about you.
But I didnt understand why I felt so small and embarrassed when I started to watch the movie.
Its interesting how the body remembers.
What touches me about that scene between Anna and Clayton is the idea of human worthiness.
Pretend its not just madness.
I remembered her as this villain, but theres so much vulnerability in her attempt to be a villain.
I love that opening shot where we first meet her, cramped up in the frame with her pits.
I love seeing her rehearse her spiel and then carefully lay out her stockings on the bed.
But she says it with this kind of regressed language, like marble-mouthed.
I loved watching her work, it was exciting.
Production took place over a few months, but you were on set for three days.
How did the timing of it break down?I think every scene was a separate day.
I dont think we banged out all three scenes in a day.
Youre one of the youngest people on set.
What do you remember about the atmosphere?My time there was so slight and really focused.
I dont remember Tony giving me a ton of direction, even over the whole three days.
And I always opt for slightly too unbuttoned, thats the way Im most comfortable.
That wasnt particularly appropriate, given the delicate optics for that scene.
And so Im not gonna do that on her coverage.
Arthur calls Anna perfect.
He calls her a miracle.I feel so uncomfortable hearing that.
Is it more challenging to play someone whos described that way?Theyre not fun words.
I feel uncomfortable hearing them even now but I dont know why.
I dont know if its the young me, being 25 and bashful, or if its Anna.
I think the breakdown says something like, his dairy Madonna, or something.
Its not connected to whats happening inside me.
Hes ripping off his shirt, saying I love you.
It is incredibly uncomfortable, scary, alarming.
I think thats why when I watch her, she doesnt seem like a miracle.
Arthur in his current state is obviously projecting on her.
So its that strange dissonance.
Its very odd, but I was a child actor I was just an unemployed child actor.
Its hard at any age.
In the deposition scene, you stop talking and its clear that youre staring at something.
I dont believe you for a second!
All these things I still havent learned, frankly.
I just remember sitting at the table and trying over and over again.
I cant pretend to remember any more specifics than that.
Theres a moment in the scene where you side eye whats happening on that side of the table.
It feels like a very real reaction.I hope so.
But again, things like that, I thought, Mmm, are you an NYC high school girl?
Are you bored or are you sad, Wever?
When I watched that scene, I am a little like, [grimace].
I always read her as both: her family has died, and she has to give this deposition.
She is not prepared for that world.She is not prepared for that world.
Then the next scene is the phone call.
It may have been the grip supervisor, it tends to be.
I dont think that Tom was calling in for this, and he wasnt on set.
And its almost as if it didnt seep in all the way.
The body was too tense to really absorb.
Tony did an excellent job at painting this kind of portrait.
I went back and I looked at the script, and its all in there.
The language is so devastatingly simple and young and open and plain.
Do people recognize you fromMichael Clayton?No one recognizes me fromMichael Clayton!
[Laughs] I think youre the only one.
Thats why getting this email invitation was a one-two punch of, Thats so sweet!
and Oh no, this is not gonna go well!
It was a look of, Oh, wait!
I know what its like to do a job and have it change you as an actor.
I dont think Ive had that feeling in a long time.
Its always to let go.
I cant pretend that this wasthejob.
But Im also really proud of it.
I respect the movie.
I remember what a big deal it was to even go in for the audition.
In watching it back this week, the biggest hit I got wasnt about the job itself.
It was about all the years Ive been doing this, and all the years Ihadbeen doing this.
You mentioned Arthurs huge sack of bread.
I certainly eat bread.
I dont know why challah just came to mind.
I want a bread thats almost a dessert.
I dont want a crisp; its fine with cheese.
But I really am looking for something sweet and soft.
We learn that this was Annas first trip.
She comes to New York City, youre from New York City.
The scope of it, the breadth, its quite romantic.
So, apparently, Im buttering her up, too.
This is terrible and somebody needs to protect her.This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
